Category Archives: Swansea

I experienced some culture shock, but not as badly as I expected. The first couple of days I kept questioning whether coming on exchange was the right thing to do, was worried that my housemates were too rowdy for me and would spend a lot of time alone. Once I got to know them, though, I got over it and began to enjoy my time a lot more. I didn’t really have any issues with safety, I just used the same amount of caution I use in Brisbane and never ran into any issues. The only other challenge I had to deal with was not being able to do the one subject I really needed to do, but that was more of an annoyance that I sorted out quickly.

My main advice to future exchange students is to be prepared. Be prepared to miss people from back home and make sure you have a skype account. Be prepared to get questioned quite a bit about coming into the UK, it feels scary at the time, but just stay calm and they will let you in. Also, don’t waste any opportunity on exchange. If someone asks if you want to do something or go somewhere, provided it’s not illegal, just say yes. Take the opportunity to experience as much as you can because it will be over before you know it.

Overall, I think exchange has irrevocably changed me as a person. I am much more confident in who I am and the kinds of people I want to have around me. I made lifelong friends I can’t wait to visit. I’m also much more independent than I was which made moving back in with my parents a little bit of a downer because I’m ready to take the next step in my life. Professionally, my exchange solidified my desire to move and work in the UK and a drive to work hard and get there. I would wholeheartedly recommend the Student Exchange Program to every student that asked.

In Swansea, I studied ‘Youth Justice’, ‘Criminalisation of Sex’ and ‘Crime, Drugs and Alcohol’. I was amazed by the fact, especially in the youth justice module, that the lecturer was actually involved in developing a new youth justice system and most of the articles we read for the subject were written by him. Comparing Swansea to QUT, however, QUT comes out on top.

I enjoy having lecture slides available for download before a lecture so I can print them out and this does not happen at Swansea. It took about a week for slides to go up on blackboard on average. Also, I do not believe blackboard is used to its full potential like it is used at QUT. The level of work, however, was similar to my experience at QUT. The exception to this is that two of my modules only had one piece of assessment for each, which I thought was quite odd.

With regards to accommodation, my perception changed quite a lot. I stayed at Hendrefoelan Student Village and at first I was horrified that this tiny little house, with my tiny little room and a tiny little kitchen was to be my home with another 9 people for the next 5 months. However, after meeting my new house mates and getting comfortable, I came to love my little slice of heaven.

Power, water and internet were all included in the rent so we never had to worry about that. We shared two bathrooms and all had sinks in our rooms; though the water looked a little funky every now and again. Every second day someone would come and take out the garbage and every second week cleaners would clean the bathrooms and kitchens, provided there were no dirty dishes in the sink. While the accommodation took some getting used to and could have been better for the price I paid, I would never change it because that house gave me some of the best memories of my life.

I budgeted $15000 for this trip, including for holidays, and came back with just $60, which I think was completely worth it. Accommodation is a lot more expensive, so too is certain foods. However, prepaid phone plans are much cheaper and a lot better value than in Australia. I mainly used a Travelforex travel card which I found to be really good as it doesn’t charge you for converting money and only charges you $2 to withdraw money. The only drawback with this is that you have to Bpay money onto the account and if you’re like me and forget to check the card regularly, you might be low on money until the Bpay goes through.

My reason for choosing Swansea University is twofold; the fact it is in the UK and that the modules paired well with my QUT subjects. Upon arrival, I was warmly greeted by Study Abroad staff at Heathrow Airport which I was very grateful for as I was quite nervous. They also helped me carry my bags to my new home. Swansea University, in general, looked quite Celtic with lush green grounds and vines growing on the building walls, which I loved.

Swansea itself is both beautiful and slightly ugly at the same time. It has an amazing beach running alongside the main road which you can see from lecture room windows (I found myself gazing out the window a lot) and cute little towns like Mumbles. On the other hand, the industrial nature of Swansea can make the town look a little scary in places, but they are easily avoided. Wales, as a whole, is a spectacular place to live with small towns where everyone knows each other and green landscapes galore.

Swansea University’s facilities are quite good, but I must admit QUT are a lot more technologically savvy than my exchange counterpart. I found enrolling quite challenging and annoying at Swansea University, an issue I have never had at QUT. That being said, overall the facilities at Swansea University are more than adequate, they just need a little more modernising.

The key strengths of Swansea University are how welcoming the first two weeks are as well as its research and real world applications of lectures. It is well known for being the best university in the UK voted for by students. However, it is also well known for being a good university for engineering, especially with the new engineering campus opening in September.